Russian female athletes are known for their beauty and elegance, as well as their unbending will and determined character which helps them to claim hard-fought victories, reverse the course of seemingly hopeless matches, and win major titles.

RT Sport takes a look at some of the Russian women who have proved that beauty and strength combined can pave the way to world and Olympic glory.

1.Karolina Sevastyanova

Sevastyanova is a rhythmic gymnast who retired from sport after taking gold in the group event at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Residents from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) who took part in a poll conducted during the London Olympics named Sevastyanova the most beautiful female athlete participating in the 2012 Games.

Alexander Ovechkin’s break-up with tennis star Maria Kirilenko was much attributed to Sevastyanova, as Ovi’s ex-girlfriend terminated their engagement after pictures of her fiance spending time with the retired Russian gymnast emerged on social media.

At the 2017 curling worlds the Russian team, led by Sidorova, reached the final of the championship for the first time in the county’s history, but ultimately fell agonizingly short after losing to Canada.

Sharapova has been engaged in the past, but remains very much ingle. In 2010, NBA basketball player Sasha Vujacic proposed to Sharapova on the anniversary of their first meeting, and the tennis star said “yes.”

However, in autumn of 2012 Sharapova called off her engagement to the Slovenian basketball guard, who had moved to Istanbul, Turkey, to continue his professional career. She also dated Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov for two years, before breaking up in 2015.

Russian long jumper Klishina was the sole member of the Russian athletics team who was allowed to participate in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, following the IOC’s decision to impose a blanket ban on the national track and field squad due to alleged doping violations.